Rail-suspended carriage

ABSTRACT

A rail-suspended carriage for movable partition walls has a carriage body provided with an axle on which a pair of wheels are mounted which can engage a rail along which the carriage is to travel. Turnable guide rollers are provided, each being adapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith and each being turnable about a first vertical axis and the latter in turn being pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling it. A track roller is turnable about another vertical axis laterally offset from and paralleling the first and second axis, and a motion-transmitting arrangement is provided which enforces pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axis thereof in one direction, if the first axis of the other guide roller is pivoted about its second axis in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

United States Patent 1191 Vogeli Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

RAIL-SUSPENDED CARRIAGE Inventor: Ernat Vogeli, Zurich, SwitzerlandPolio Establishment, Vaduz,

Liechtenstein Feb. 22, 1973 Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 23,1972 Switzerland 2579/72 US. Cl 308/6 R, 104/172 S, 105/155,

Int. Cl. Fl6c 21/00 Field of Search 308/6 R; 16/87 R, 87.2,

References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Moshu 105/155 Francis...198/177 R Devonshire [98/177 X Gotsch 104/172 S Pettu 105/156 11113,829,175 1451 Aug. 15,1974

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 929,867 6/1963 Great Britain 105/155Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre Assistant Examiner-R. H. LazarusAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker 57] ABSTRACT Arail-suspended carriage for movable partition walls has a carriage bodyprovided with an axle on which a pair of wheels are mounted which canengage a rail along which the carriage is to travel. Turnable guiderollers are provided, each being adapted to roll along a rail in lateralengagement therewith and each being turnable about a first vertical axisand the latter in turn being pivotable about a second vertical axisparalleling it. A track roller is turnable about another vertical axislaterally offset from and paralleling the first and second axis, and amotion-transmitting arrangement is provided which enforces pivotalmovement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axisthereof in one direction, if the first axis of the other guide roller ispivoted about its second axis in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIENIED mm 3 m4 SHEET 2 [IF 3 PATENTEU we]31914 SHEET 3 [IF 3 RAIL-SUSPENDED CARRIAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Such rail-suspended carriages, using a single axle on which theirtravelling wheels are mounted, are already known. Heretofore they useeither a special guide arrangement or else must be guided in a groove inorder to be able to properly follow the curvature of the rails on whichthey travel. In either case it is difficult for them to move over therail junctures.

For this reason it is a frequent practice to use a twoaxled carriagewhich can readily move over rail junctures. This type of carriagehowever has its own disadvantage, namely the provision of two axlesmeans that such a carriage can move only through rail curves ofrelatively large radius; hence, the use of this type of carriage isquite limited. In particular, if right-angled or nearly right-angledcurves in the rail are provided, and if the radius of curvature at thechange in the rail direction is very small, this type of carriage cannotbe used.

Clearly, this particular art is in need of further improvements which,however, have not thusfar been forthcoming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to providean improved rail-suspended carriage which avoids the disadvantages ofthe prior art.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide animproved rail-suspended carriage which is especially (but notexclusively) suitable for suspending movable partition walls.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a rail-suspendedcarriage which has a single axle and is specially suitable for passingthrough and around curvatures of minimum radii, without requiringspecial guides or guide arrangements.

In keeping with these objects, and others which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a rail-suspendedcarriage, particularly suitable for movable partition walls, whichbriefly stated comprises a carriage body having an axle, and a pair ofwheels mounted on this axle and adapted to engage a rail along which thecarriage is to travel. A pair of turnable guide rollers are provided onthe carriage body and each adapted to roll along a rail in lateralengagement therewith. The guide rollers are each turnable about a firstvertical axis and the latter is in turn pivotable about a secondvertical axis paralleling the respective first axis. A track roller isturnable about another vertical axis which is laterally offset from anparallels the first and second axis, and means is provided for pivotalmovement of the first axis of one guide roller about the second axisthereof in one direction, in response to pivotal movement of the firstaxis of the other guide roller about the second axis thereof in anopposite direction, and vice versa.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however,

both as to its construction and its method of operation, together withadditional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood fromthe following description of specific embodiments when read inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of a carriage according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. I but showing the carriage from theopposite side thereof;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the carriage;

FIG. 4 is a top-plan view of the carriage;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the carriage; and

FIGS. 6-10 are respective diagrammatic illustrations showing thecarriage in different positions as it passes through a small-radiuscurve of a guide rail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE-PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

Discussing the drawing in detail, and firstly FIGS. 1-5 which illustratestructural features of the novel carriage, it will be seen thatreference numeral 1 identifies the carriage body which is provided witha guide roller 2 located centrally thereof and at the lower end, theguide roller 2 being turnable about a vertical axis. An axle 3 passesthrough the body I and carries the wheels 4 and 5, and of course it willbe understood that instead of a single axle 3 it will be possible to usetwo stub axles.

In front of and behind the wheels 4 and 5, as seen in the direction ofmovement of the carriage body I, two vertical axes 6 and 7 pass throughthe body I, carrying two pivotal brackets 8 and 9, respectively. On theunderside of these brackets, arranged eccentrically with reference tothe axes 6 and 7, are guide rollers 10 and 11, respectively.

At one side of the body I there is provided a projection 12 in whichthere is journalled a track roller I3 for turnable movement about avertical axis 14 which is spaced at such a distance from the rollers 10and II that between the latter and the track roller 113 a rail 15illustrated in chain lines in FIG. 3 can be accommodated with some play.The rail 15 has the wheel 4 rolling on it, but serves only as a supportrail for the wheel 5. The track roller 13 is offset on a different levelwith respect to the rollers 10 and 11, so that it not only engates theguide rail 16 (also shown in chain lines in FIG. 3) but is capable ofmaintaining the carriage body 1 in proper position, in conjunction withthe roller 2, at those locations (e.g., at rail junctions) at which therail 16 is omitted. Two gears 17 and 18 which mesh with one another aremounted on the brackets 8 and 9, or on the axes 6 and 7 thereof. Thismeans that the pivotal movement of one of the brackets 8 or 9 (and thusthe respective rollers 10 and 11 associated therewith) willautomatically and necessarily result in a pivotal movement of the otherof the brackets 9 or 8, but in opposite direction to the movement of thefirst-mentioned bracket. In addition, the illustrated embodimentprovides two springs 19 and 20 which may advantageously be mounted onthe axes 6 and 7 and which permanently tend to pivot the brackets 8 and9 in the direction of the arrows x and y, respectively, towards thetrack roller 13 (see FIG. 5), thereby urging the rollers 10 and IIagainst the rail I5.

At the lower end of the body 1 there is provided a mounting member, hereconfigured as a carrying rod 21, by means of which a component (forinstance a movable partition wall) can be mounted on the carriage body1.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-10, the movement of the carriage when passingthrough a tight 90-degree rail curve will be explained.

As seen in FIG. 6, the carriage (of which the rollers 10 and 11, theroller 2, the roller 3 and the diagrammatically illustrated wheels 4 andwith their axle 3 have been shown) moves in the direction of the arrow 2on a straight portion of the two rails 15 and 16 towards the 90-degreecurve.

FIG. 6 shows the roller 11 entering the curve, as a result of which theroller 11 and the roller are slightly pivoted towards the left out ofthe direction of advancement, as a result of which a slight inclinationof the axle 3 for the wheels 4 and 5 relative to the rails and I6 isobtained at this point.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show that as the carriage increasingly moves into thecurve, this inclination of the axle 3 and the wheels 4 and 5 becomesmore pronounced, and FIG. 10 shows that the carriage has passed throughhalf of the curve and that due to the cooperation of the rollers 10 and11 and the track roller 3 the inclination of the axle 3 for the wheels.4 and 5 coincides with the 45-degree radius of the curve.

It will be appreciated that as the carriage begins to move out of thecurve from the point shown in FIG. 10, the behavior of the wheels, theaxle 3 and the guide rollers l0 and 11 is exactly reverse to that whichis shown in FIGS. 6-10 where the carriage moves into the curve. In otherwords, the positions of the various components in question will,beginning with further movement beyond the point shown in FIG. 10,resemble those shown in FIGS. 9, 8 and 7 until the carriage moves intothe next straight portion of the rails 15 and 16, when the position ofits various components will be again that shown in FIG. 6.

The steering geometry obtained by the cooperation of the rollers 10, 11and 13, and the pivotal mounting of the rollers 10 and 11 and which hasbeen explained with reference to FIGS. 610, assures that the wheels 4and 5 will always be in contact with the rails 15 and 16 over theirentire width while they pass through a curve, so that an optimum loaddistribution is obtained. Furthermore, the fact that the inclination ofthe wheels 4 and 5 is initiated before they completely enter the curve,assures that a sudden directional change of the carriage is prevented.This is advantageous, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

It has already been indicated above that in the rail junctions the rail16 may be absent over a short distance, this means that the wheel 5 willhave no support. At such times the one-sided load resulting from this istaken up by the track roller 13 in conjunction with the guide roller 2,in that the roller 13 is offset vertically with reference to the roller2 and can laterally engage the rail 5. In addition, the lateral supportof the track roller 13 prevents the carriage from jumping its rails.

It is evident that with the construction according to the presentinvention the carriage can move through curves of minimum radius.Furthermore, the carriage is so well guided that rather high loads canbe supported from it without having to make the carriage undesirablylarge. The carriage is also capable of moving over and through railjunctions without having to fear that the carriage might tilt or becomejammed due to the fact that only one of its wheels 4, 5 is in contactwith a rail sometimes. Moreover, wear of the components of the novelcarriage is low, the turning of the axle 3 begins before the carriageitself has reached the curve, and the inclination of the axleautomatically follows the curve as the carriage moves therethrough.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in arail-suspended carriage, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown, since various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

1. A rail-suspended carriage, particularly for movable partition walls,comprising a carriage body having an axle; a pair of wheels mounted onsaid axle and adapted to engage a rail along which said carriage is totravel; a pair of turnable guide rollers on said carriage body and eachadapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith, said guiderollers each being turnable about a first vertical axis which is in turnbeing pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling the respectivefirst axis; a track roller turnable about another vertical axis which islaterally offset from and parallels said first and second axes; andmeans for causing pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide rollerabout the second axis thereof in one direction, in response to pivotalmovement of the first axis of the other guide roller about the secondaxis thereof in an opposite direction, and vice versa.

2. A carriage as defined in claim I; and further comprising a carryingmember extending downwardly from said carriage body.

3. A carriage as defined in claim 1; and further comprising anadditional guide roller also mounted on said carriage body, saidadditional guide roller and said track roller being located on differentlevels.

4. A carriage as defined in claim 1; and further comprising biasingmeans for biasing said guide rollers in direction towards said trackroller.

5. A carriage as defined in claim 4, wherein said biasing meanscomprises at least one spring.

6. A carriage as defined in claim I; further comprising bracket membersmounting said guide rollers on said carriage body.

7. A carriage as defined in claim 1, wherein said means comprisesmeshing gears connecting said second axes with one another.

8. A carriage as defined in claim I; further comprising an additionalguide roller mounted on said carriage body and laterally spaced fromsaid track roller by a distance sufficient to accommodate a rail betweenthem.

1. A rail-suspended carriage, particularly for movable partition walls,comprising a carriage body having an axle; a pair of wheels mounted onsaid axle and adapted to engage a rail along which said carriage is totravel; a pair of turnable guide rollers on said carriage body and eachadapted to roll along a rail in lateral engagement therewith, said guiderollers each being turnable about a first vertical axis which is in turnbeing pivotable about a second vertical axis paralleling the respectivefirst axis; a track roller turnable about another vertical axis which islaterally offset from and parallels said first and second axes; andmeans for causing pivotal movement of the first axis of one guide rollerabout the second axis thereof in one direction, in response to pivotalmovement of the first axis of the other guide roller about the secondaxis thereof in an opposite direction, and vice versa.
 2. A carriage asdefined in claim 1; and further comprising a carrying member extendingdownwardly from said carriage body.
 3. A carriage as defined in claim 1;and further comprising an additional guide roller also mounted on saidcarriage body, said additional guide roller and said track roller beinglocated on different levels.
 4. A carriage as defined in claim 1; andfurther comprising biasing means for biasing said guide rollers indirection towards said track roller.
 5. A carriage as defined in claim4, wherein said biasing means comprises at least one spring.
 6. Acarriage as defined in claim 1; further comprising bracket membersmounting said guide rollers on said carriage body.
 7. A carriage asdefined in claim 1, wherein said means comprises meshing gearsconnecting said second axes with one another.
 8. A carriage as definedin claim 1; further comprising an additional guide roller mounted onsaid carriage body and laterally spaced from said track roller by adistance sufficient to accommodate a rail between them.